Hi All.Hope all your vee dubs are firing on all 4.

Now this is not to do with vee-dubs in particular.But i would like learn some more about amps and subs.I do want to set some up,and i know there are a lot of talented folks on this forum.So why not ask you guys.

Firstly what is the go with channels on amps?

I see amps for sale saying 4 channel,6 channel,2 channel,what does that mean?

Does that mean you can have 4 speakers plugged in as well as the sub?

Is it better to have a Lower watt amp then your sub?

Do most subs come with all the wiring necessary,i hear of some people buying wiring kits as well.What da?

Hope you could help.Any ideas/info would be great.I just want to know more.
Regards Jason.

First key point, you can only compare amplifires on the RMS watt rating, NOT just the generic watt rating thats usually any number thrown out printed on the box.

The greater the rms watt rating, the greater ability of amplification you amplifier can put out (louder). This of course consumes more current, you would have to go pretty hardcore before its an issue with draining batteries and alternator not keeping up while running.

your right about the 'channel' jargon. However, out of those 2 or 4 channels, those channels include the amplifier as a speaker most of the time... Note that often, a 4 or 2 channel amp will require channel bridging (2 channels into 1) to run a single sub... That will be high lighted in your user manual. its like... putting the positive terminal of channel one to the sub speaker, and putting the speakers negative wire to channel two...

if you want just a purely sub woofer amplifier and not worried about any other speaker amplification, a 'monoblock' amplifier is a cheap way to go, its pretty much a single channel. for a small car like a bug... i rekon that with a decent head unit is all u need.

In my ricer coupe', i had a clarion 300watt 4 channel driving 2 x 12 inch woofers, an aftermarket headunit with 4x50watt outputs (typical outputs) and it was more than loud and clear enough. I wouldn't go lower than say 200 watt when choosing an amp to run a woofer.

Amps for normal speakers improve sound quality as well in that they up the volume on the speaker without having to fully crank the head unit volume control, as long as you don't crank up the amplification on the amplifer too much, which in the amplification process, decreases your sound quality. (hence why you decrease the amplification in the head unit by using an amp in conjunction to bring up the volume without maxing it out.)

Thanks Chris.There is alot of good information there.
I have 4 speakers hooked up now coming directly from
my head unit.I was hoping to run them 4 through an amp
as well as add a sub.What do i have to get/do in order to do that.?
or should i just leave them coming from the head unit,and use a single amp
just for the sub?

Thanks Again

ur alright mate.

do you know what the wattage of your headunit is? Liked 4x50w or sumfin?

All u need to do to have the 4 speakers running and a sub... if the headunit is loud enough, then leave the 4 speakers wired to your head unit. Get an amp wiring kit (2 channel), which has an audio cable with 2 rca ends. You will notice at the back of your headunit you will have a red rca and a white rca output that would be labelled amp out or sub out etc. fit the rca ends of the cable into these rca ends in your headunit

Get yourself a monoblock or a 2 channel (4 channel if you 'may' want to add speakers in the future), wire up those rcas to that amp, and fit the 'power wires' that come with the wiring kit. One will be the amplifiers 'earth' wire, the other, 12 volt source that connects straight to the battery, and a small gauge wire that connects to your 12 volt source when your headunit is turned on. (its used with an inbuilt relay in the amp to only turn on the amp when the key is on acc (for modern cars) or the bug turned to 'on' when the head unit is operational and what not)


Now you need leads to go from the amplifier to the woofer. Dick smith sell audio lead by the metre cheaply. get a couple meters of some thick guage, wire it up to the positive and negative terminals of the appropriate channel on the amp (as per amp manufacturer's instructions) and wire positive and negative accordingly to the sub box.

if you buy a whole kit (sub, sub box to mount the sub, and amp, and wiring kit), places like autobarn offer cheap installation by professionals. Well, it was cheap back in the day when i worked there. Like $50 or sumfin... and they (at the autobarn i once i worked at) did tidy jobs.

I wouold suggest getting a really good pair of amplified 6 by 9s , and ditch the idea of a sub all together. The bug is such a small space anyway. Years ago i built a sound system that was blistering loud with tonnes of base. There was no need for a sub. BUT there are critical features in the setup that make a lot of little differences, combining in really good, loud clear sound. Your mounting hardware could do with upgrading, to make sure the do not move with al the bass movement. A super sold mounting platform, the "right" amount of air locked in behind them. You will see massive change sin sound with the amount of air available, heavy duty speaker cable, adequate wiring for the AMP and a strong earth, Then make sure you get speakers with a massive Magnt and a quality cone material. The stuff that sort of looks like carbon fibre is usually pretty good. As long a you have a good head unit 45x4 or omre it shouldn't matter too much.
With all of that i had a system that could easily be used for a party, it was really that good. I did my running around on the amp though. I wen to all the different motoquipe style stores and looked at what they had, and started to believe what they told me. By chance i saw a sound technician/ Amp repair place and caled in there and he set me straight about the different qualities and actual sound outputs. He put me onto a great amp that i was a bit cautious about but tok his word for it and could not have been happier. It was a two channel amp and thay were the only seakers i used.

Good luck

Thanks Guys.
Chris you are pretty much on the money there.The four speakers i have now are quite loud.
And people often think i have a sub in there.
So leaving them in the head unit will be fine.Then all i do is get a 2 channel amp,and 2 channel wiring kit.
As well as a sub.And should be fine?
What if they dont have 2 channel monoblocks in stock?
Did i miss anything?
Thanks so much

U didn't miss anything that should be fine.

2 channel and a monoblock are different, both will do the same job :P monoblock is pretty much no stereo sound , single channel.

so the 2 channel will be more useable if say in the future u want to add normal speakers. Either will do the trick
Keep us up to date and show us ur setup :P, keen to take a peak because i haven't setup any stereos in the vw yet, cept the ol' AM head unit with a couple of el'cheapo 6 inches

hey mate, i am looking into putting some sound gear into my beetle aswell. i also have a hilux ute, which has no room for subs. so what i have done. is 2 6.5s in the front doors running off the headunit and i have 4 6x9s (2 behind rear seat and 2 in rear doors) running off a 600w sony amp. with the ones behind the seat i have them running a low pass filter which cancels all high and mid frequency and just leaves bass (effectivly 2 small subs) this set up is plenty enough bass. (mirrors go everywhere). My advice is dont fall into the trap of if you want bass you have to have subs....this is not the case hope that helps. Adam

Yeh,i understand that mate,its all good.
Im on the search for stuff this weekend.
So will keep you posted.
Anyone know any tips to making speaker boxes?

If you just want some good bass go a single 10" sub, that all you need in a bug with the cabin being so small.

If you wanna rattle the mirrors of the car next to you at the lights then look at 2 10"s

I agree with Joel, single 10 is enough. i changed to 2 10" subs and it was a crap load too much (148db), but the young one's that come into the shop love it!

Let me know how your search goes for stuff. I can help out with any requirements or just advice, just a phone call away.

Good luck mike

yeh my full intention is to get a 10" sub.
Because the place where i would like to put it is around 10".
Thanks Mike.Will keep that in mind.If i have trouble or need advice
i will keep all posted on this thread.
Thanks all.Going Shopping tomorrow.

Depends where you want to mount the speakers I bought a rear shelf for my nine inch speakers and fibreglass front panels for my 6 inch speakers all from Classic VW

here is a link to my install

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=83286&page=1 

hey guys.
Went shopping,and came home with nothing for my car.
i went to three shops and none of them had 10".subs
That is what i want,so i will keep looking around.

Hey Jason,

Where do you wanna put this 10"?
I'm curious because there is only really one spot to put them in beetles which is the rear parcel shelf.

Speaker mounting is more important than the speakers themselves. Basically you cant let air from the back interact with air from the front.

Give me a ring on 07 54762899 we have a few 10" subs in stock and can get any brand you want to your door in a flash. No pressure to buy from us but can be helpful.

Mike.

mike what business are you?
and where?

Sound in motion, sunshine coast.